(Nissan has given up sports cars for '97 and Bob Hagin doesn't like
it. His son Matt, the more practical of the pair, says that the Nissan
200SX SE is a good compromise for growing families that want a little
sport in their lives as well as economy and practicality.)

MATT - The SE version of the Nissan 200SX coupe is like the middle
child in a three-sibling family, Dad. The Base model 200SX is the least
expensive of the trio and a pretty-but-practical commuter. The jazzy
SE-R is a high-powered road-handler that's as close as Nissan comes to
making a sports car now. That leaves the "plain" SE as the
upscale/downscale coupe that most purchasers buy. The price is low
enough to keep from straining the small-family budget but it has enough
standard amenities to make it user-friendly.

BOB - I would still like to try the souped-up SE-R version of the
200SX, but unfortunately its not available in California, New York or
Massachusetts. It couldn't pass the restrictive smog laws in those
states but it would almost be worth spending a little time in Nevada or
Oregon just to wring one out. The twin-cam, 16-valve, four-banger engine
in the Base and the SE models displaces 1.6 liters and puts out 115
horsepower. It pulls the cars along pretty well but the engine in the
SE-R is considerably different. It's almost a half-liter larger, and
there's 25 more horses available, which would make a lot of difference
in a 2500-pound car. Add to that the five-speed manual transmission, the
viscous limited-slip differential and the four-wheel disc brakes that
all come on the "R" as standard equipment, and it's close to being a
Nissan sports car. Close, but no cigar.

MATT - But small families don't engage in stop-light drag races,
Dad, and the SE that we had stayed up with traffic just fine with its
smaller engine and automatic transmission. And there's a noticeable
difference in the fuel mileage between the smaller engined versions and
the SE-R. It amounts to an additional eight miles per gallon, if the EPA
averages on the window sticker are to be believed. For our SE, the
averages are 32 around town and 36 on the highway.

BOB - I like the instrument panel layout on the 200SX, Matt. Both
the tach and the speedometer are directly in front of the driver and the
other instruments are easy for a guy my age to read. I think that the
sound-system controls were built with younger people in mind, however. I
found them hard to read down there by the shift lever and I'd have to
get grounded on what buttons to push to select what I wanted without
having to look down. But the steering wheel-mounted cruise control was
easy enough to deal with. It's operated by poking the appropriate
buttons with your right thumb, so you don't even have to take your hands
off the wheel.

MATT - The front seats in our SE are comfortable enough, but I think
that they could use more side support. The SE-R uses 15-inch wheels
while the Base model is shod with 13 inchers - but I think the 14-inch
alloy wheels that came on our SE are a good compromise. The doors are
wide enough to make for easy entrance but the back seat is strictly for
small people or kids. Skiers will appreciate the rear seatback fold-down
for stowing skis inside, but since the car is only rated to tow 1000
pounds, I don't think that boat enthusiasts like Tom are going to get
enthralled over the ownership of a 200SX. Guys like my brother aren't
pleased with anything short of a stump-pulling high-torque sport/
utility vehicle for dragging trailers. .

BOB - Nissan has made a big deal out of the fact that a small
spoiler on the trunk is standard equipment on all three of the 200SX
coupes this year, but since they don't have any effect on the
performance or efficiency at any speed under about 90 MPH, it's kind of
unnecessarily showing off.

MATT - Uncle Don told me that when you were a kid, you put a dummy
tail pipe under your Hudson so people would think that it had a split
exhaust manifold, Dad. Isn't that "unnecessarily showing off?"